Drinking while pregnant 'can make children more attracted to alcohol'

Drinking while pregnant can produce children more attracted to alcohol, a new study suggests.

By Kate Devlin, Medical Correspondent

12:01AM GMT 15 Jan 2009

Researchers found that teenagers found the smell of alcohol more appealing if their mothers had drunk while they were in the womb.

Researchers found that teenagers may find the smell of alcohol more appealing if their mothers had drunk while they were in the womb

This attraction could increase their chances of suffering a drink problem in later life, researchers believe.

The study, carried out in pregnant rats, showed that by the time offspring hit adolescence they responded more strongly to the smell of alcohol on others if they had been exposed to it before they were born.

Steven Youngentob, from the State University of New York, who led the study, said: "These results highlight an important relationship between fetal and adolescent experiences that appears essential to the progressive development of alcohol abuse."

His team believe that being exposed to alcohol in the womb trains the brain to make the smell of a tipple more appealing.

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This happens to all mammals, including humans, they believe, because it is evolutionary important for a child to like foods eaten by its parents.

By contrast, rats whose mothers were not given alcohol while pregnant were not as attracted to the smell.

The study, published in the journal Behavioural and Brain Functions, also found that the teenage years were when attraction to the aroma of alcohol appeared to heighten.

The researchers believe this is crucial, as adolescence is a key time in which early patterns of behaviour which can lead to alcohol addiction can begin.

Mr Youngentob added: "Within the context of 'at risk' adolescents, prior exposure to (alcohol) may, among other things, worsen the consequences of alcohol-related social interaction by increasing teenagers' propensity to engage in such settings."

* Increasing the tax on alcohol can reduce problem drinking, new research has shown.

Scientists collated the results of 112 studies over nearly four decades and found that the more that alcohol cost, the less likely people were to indulge.

The study, published in the journal Addiction, also showed that when people did choose to buy expensive alcohol they drank less.